November 6, 2012 5:27pm ESTNovember 6, 2012 2:22pm ESTThe Niners aren't forcing takeaways (only six interceptions) and getting sacks (only 15) at last season's rate, but Patrick Willis isn't worried about 2011. He sees their defense forging a different path with the same goal of the Super Bowl.

If there was one NFL player made to team up with a battery company, it would be San Francisco 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis.

On the field, the five-time Pro Bowler and dean of the Niners' league-best linebacker corps plays the game with great energy and always finishes his tackles with power. Willis stayed busy off the field during his team's Week 9 bye, joining forces with Duracell to promote the #TrustYourPower campaign, aimed at helping to send underprivileged kids to ProCamps, the NFL's nationwide youth camp program.

Willis will go back to work wreaking havoc on offenses this week, with the NFC West rival St. Louis Rams next on the schedule to be battered by the Niners' top-ranked scoring defense and No. 2 total defense.

The Niners aren't forcing takeaways (only six interceptions) and getting sacks (only 15) at last season's rate, but Willis isn't worried about 2011. He sees their defense forging a different path with the same goal of the Super Bowl.

"We don't want to rest on what we've done last year," Willis said as a guest of Sporting News' Huddle Up! podcast. "It's more we want to create our own identity, own tradition this year. We just want to go out there and just be better than we were the week before."

After giving up 65 points in their first three games, the 49ers (6-2) have more resembled a dominant unit in three of their last four. Taking away their turnover-filled disappointing 26-3 loss to the New York Giants in Week 6, they gave up a total of four field goals in wins over the Jets, Bills, Seahawks and Cardinals.

The Niners also have plenty of talent on their three-man front (led by Justin Smith) and in the secondary (Carlos Rogers, Dashon Goldson), but their four-man linebacker corps is the heart of their defense. They are loaded with some of the league's best all-around playmakers at the position—Willis and NaVorro Bowman inside, Aldon Smith and Ahmad Brooks outside.

Considering Bowman is in just his third season and Smith is in his second season—his first as a full-time starter—the unit is just finding its stride.

"There are some defenses that have guys who are more experienced and won more games, but right now, our guys are getting there," Willis said. "By no means do we feel like we've got it all. That's what makes coming to work so special—we're still working to prove something."

The secret is out on how good Bowman has become, given he made first team All-Pro last season. Willis sees Bowman as "his little brother" on the field, providing the same brand of energy and enthusiasm lining up next to him. Most important, they're unselfish when it comes to making the big plays on the ball or the quarterback.

"I know without a shadow of a doubt, when times get tough, good or bad, he's going to have my back, and he knows that I have his, too," Willis said. "When you have that kind of chemistry, it's truly a blessing. When we watch film, we know it. We're both just as excited when we see one another make a play."

Aldon Smith thrived as a situational pass rusher as a rookie, bursting on the scene with 14 sacks in 2011. This year, he's on the field on first and second down, too, with the downfield responsibilities in coverage added to his pure upfield prowess. Smith has the athleticism to ace the transition, and so far, he's been able to get to the quarterback often, too, with 7 1/2 sacks in 8 games.

"He's going to continue to get better and ultimately be one of the best outside linebackers in the league before you know it," Willis said. "He's already started to show it."

Willis was the Niners' first-round draft pick in 2007, and in that season, they were a bottom-third NFL defense. It's been a slow, steady process to develop an elite group since, stamped by the hiring of coordinator Vic Fangio to operate their 3-4 scheme last season. The underrated Brooks was a great pickup off waivers before the 2008 season, and the recent drafting of Bowman and Smith has put them over the top.

"It's been amazing," Willis said. "I'm in my sixth season—just to see where it was when I first came in, I'm truly blessed to be a part of it now.

"I continued to fight all those years, and hoped that it would turn around, and it has. We'll continue to fight for that championship ring, and we certainly have the pieces."